After several successful Monstera Albo propagations, I am facing root and node rot. So what did I do?
Cut off Root and Node Rot Off Immediately
If you find that your Monstera Albo has root rot and it has spread to your node, you will need to cut it off immediately. You can identify the rot by the dark brown or black coloring. It will also be identifiable based on how soft it is.
This is important because the rot will continue to spread unless you remove it all. I have learned this lesson from propagating monstera adonsonii, rhaphidophora tetrasperma, and many other aroids. This doesn’t mean death, unless the rot has reached all of the nodes. Luckily, after I cut off the root and node rot, I still have an extra inch of internode before my last node. So there is still a chance.
How To Save Your Monstera Albo Cutting
After you cut off the root rot and node rot, some people will recommend you let it callous. From my experience, dealing with less aroids, you don’t need to do this. Instead, I prefer adding a rooting hormone powder or gel to the stem to help encourage root growth again.
Unfortunately, I had air layered my monstera albo and planted it directly into soil and somehow it still got rot. So the idea that there is a sure fire way of preventing rot is just not real. So you must always watch out for your plants, otherwise you can lose a valuable plant.
After I removed all the rot, put rooting hormone gel on the stem, I quickly assembled the following:
- Glass Vase (You can really use any container here, but I wanted to be able to see what is going on with my stem and to ensure that the rot doesn’t continue)
- Sphagnum moss (Get it moist)
- Giant Plastic Bag (My Albo plant is large, so I can’t put it in a typical propagation box)
Once you’ve assembled everything. Put the moist sphagnum moss at the base of your container, put the albo cutting in and ensure that the node is covered in the moss, the place the bag over the plant. This is key, because humidity is what will help keep the plant alive.
Then I placed my plant in a cool medium/low light area so that the plant can get enough light to feed itself but also stay in a cool environment to preserve it. Heat is going to accelerate its poor condition. Think about fruit. It will go bad quickly in the heat, but it will be preserved in a refrigerator. Definitely don’t put your plant in the refrigerator, that’s not going to help it, but keeping it in a cool spot will give your plant the best chance for survival.
Afterwards, just leave it alone. The best thing you can do is give your plant some undisturbed peace so that it can recover. I typically will check on it every 3 days or so just to make sure that the rot hasn’t spread, because frequently moving of your plant will stress it out.
